A Tangled Web
by Darling Pretty
Summary: What a tangled web we weave... Addison, Kate, and Brennan have been friends since high school. A medical conference reunites them, messy relationships and all. Greys, Bones, NCIS crossover. Addison/Alex, Booth/Bones, Tony/Kate.
1. Irrational Illogical Idiot

**First off, you should know that I'm nervous about this one. I haven't gotten any complaints from the Grey's and the NCIS writings, but Bones is a whole different ballgame. Addison and Kate, they're just kind of easy to write. I actually have to work to sound like Brennan. I hope I do her justice here.**

**Secondly, I've decided that each chapter will start with a flashback (check out those neato italics!) from either Kate, Addison, or Brennan's point of view. It'll say at the top, so no guesswork.**

**Thirdly, I don't own NCIS, Grey's Anatomy, Bones, or anything I might reference.**

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_**Addison**_

_You want to know the first thing I learned when I became a teenager? How to become invisible. Because being a tall, gawky redhead in a sea of petite blonds and brunettes didn't exactly make for being accepted. I was too nerdy for the popular kids, too cool for the nerds. I didn't fit in anywhere. So instead, I disappeared. And no one noticed. That is, until one day._

_I was sitting in the cafeteria, in my usual spot, a discreet table near the exit, reading. I did a lot of reading back then. I'd read anything you'd hand me, but I definitely had a certain penchant for murder mysteries. It probably made everybody think I was trying to figure out the best way to kill them. But anyways, so I was reading, when a shadow fell across my book and didn't move. I looked up, and there was this girl, another petite brunette, standing there._

"_Can I sit?"_

"_Uh… yeah. Sure." My social skills back then were rudimentary at best._

"_I'm Kate," she said. "Kate Todd."_

"_Erm, I'm Addison Montgomery. Are you new? I haven't seen you around."_

"_Just moved here from Pennsylvania."_

"_Oh. Well, I really hope you don't have any delusions of popularity," I told her. "Because you've basically just committed social suicide."_

_She looked around the cafeteria. "Yeah, I'm thinking that this is the smart move. Who cares what they think anyways, right?"_

"_Er, right," I said hesitantly. Not caring, that was a new philosophy for me. I mean, I tried to act like I didn't, but I know I did. So Kate was new, different, and just the kick in the ass I needed._

0ooo0

"Oh, come on, Kate, pick up," Addison pleads into the phone. "Please."

"Hi, you've reached Caitlyn Todd. I can't pick up just now, but leave your name and number, and I'll get back to you soon!" Kate's voicemail chirps.

"Damn it, Kate, I know your busy being a secret agent for the government and all, but for once in your entire life could you just pick up the phone when I need you to?!" Addison complains into the phone. "I'm having a major crisis here, and I need to talk to you or Tempe, mostly you. So call me back as soon as you get this, okay? It's Addison, by the way, but you probably already knew that."

Addison hangs up with a sigh. Of all the days for Kate not to pick up her phone…

Addison's phone rings. She glances at the caller id, which reads, _Kate. _Oh, thank God. "Kate!" she exclaims the moment she picks up.

"Addie," Kate answers, sounding incredibly sleepy. "Your call woke me up. Are you okay? You sounded panicked in that message you just left me. Crisis? What crisis? Is everything okay?"

"I did something stupid, Kate," Addison admits.

"What? Addison, it's like four in the morning over here. You're going to need to give me more than that."

"I told you about Alex, right?"

"Uh… Alex?"

"Intern?"

"Oh my God, right. The sexy one making eyes at you. Hold on, I'm calling Tempe."

"No, don't!" Addison exclaims. "You know she hates this sort of thing."

"What sort of thing, Addie? You haven't told me anything yet!"

"I kissed him."

"Who?"

"Alex!"

"Oh my God!"

"I know! Kate, what the hell am I supposed to do?"

"Uh, kiss him again?" It sounds as if Kate wants to add a "duh" to the end of her suggestion.

"Okay, so not helpful, and so not happening."

"Why not?"

"Because he's my intern!"

"That's it, I'm calling Tempe."

"What? No, don't! She already thinks I'm some irrational, illogical idiot!"

"Too late, already dialing." Kate's voice holds that teasing tone that only best friends can get away with without being smacked.

"Whoever this is, I'm hanging up," Temperance Brennan answers, sounding just as groggy as Kate did a couple minutes ago.

"Tempe, don't hang up," Kate replies. "Addie's in a crisis right now."

"What? What's wrong?"

"She kissed her intern."

"What, the one she's been in lust with for the past four months? You know I'm not good at this sort of thing, Kate! You should call Angela, she's good at this."

"No, Tempe, she needs her best friend now. Not Angela."

"Can we please stop talking about Addison as if she can't hear a word you're saying?" Addison interrupts.

"You didn't tell me she was on the phone!" Brennan accuses Kate.

"Sorry," Kate apologizes. "You didn't give me a chance."

"Hey, Bren," Addison says.

"Hi. So you kissed your intern. Alex, right?"

Addison groans. "Right."

"I don't really understand the problem," Brennan admits.

"Everything!" Addison exclaims in her usual hyperbole.

"Why?" Brennan asks. "Lust is a perfectly valid feeling. Without it, the human race would die out."

"So not what I want to hear, Bren," Addison replies. "But thanks for trying."

"I _told _you I'm not good at this!"

"Well, maybe it's not a bad thing. Maybe it's a good thing in disguise," Kate suggests.

"Oh no, trust me, it's a bad thing. A very, very bad thing," Addison assures her friends.

"What are you going to do?" Brennan asks.

"I don't know!" Addison exclaims. "That's why I called you!"

"Actually, you didn't call me," Brennan points out. "You called Kate."

"You know what I mean! You're here now. Help me!"

"Why don't you just talk to him?" Kate suggests. "Tell him it was just a mistake."

"I can't do that!"

"Why not?" Brennan asks. "It's the logical thing to do."

Addison is quiet for a really long time.

"Addison," Kate finally says. "If you don't talk, I'm going to assume you've hung up and do the same. Tempe is too."

"Yes. I am," Brennan affirms.

"I… I don't know if it was a mistake," Addison says quietly, her eyes downcast, even though her friends are on the other side of the country.

"So talk to him about that," Kate replies.

"But I don't know if it was the right thing either!" Addison exclaims.

"So don't talk to him," Brennan suggests. "It's rational that if you don't know what to say, you shouldn't talk to him."

"So I should avoid him?"

"I'm not saying this as an empirical scientist, Addison. I'm saying this as a friend. It's not exactly the most reasonable approach, but if it works for you…"

"Bren, you are a life saver," Addison breathes. "Okay, I can do that. No. Wait, I can't."

"Why not?" Kate asks.

"I've been meaning to talk to you guys about this. There's a medical conference in D.C. next week. I invited him."

"So un-invite him," Kate says, in her "duh" manner again.

"What are we, ten?" Addison asks rhetorically. "No, I just have to… I have to suck it up and deal with it."

"Okay, good. Now that we've established a plan, can I go to sleep?" Brennan asks.

"I'll call you guys with details about the conference soon, okay?" Addison says.

"Good night," Brennan says and hangs up.

"Night, Addie," Kate says.

"Night, Kate."

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**So... yes? No? Should I write more or not? Please give me feedback on this one!**

**-Juli-**


	2. It's a Date, Katie Pie!

**Okay, I'm sorry this took me so long! I just couldn't bring myself to write, but I'm back now. Thank you SO much for all the support on this story! I'm still nervous about it, but not to the same extreme. So thank you! Now enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Bones, Grey's Anatomy, NCIS are amazing shows and I have absolutely nothing to do with that.**

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_Kate_

_Somehow my entire family seemed to inherit the popularity gene, except me. Every last one of my brothers was on some sports team. Basketball, soccer, lacrosse, water polo, you name it, one of them played it. And my sister did absolutely everything. She was student-body president, on the honor roll, a swimmer, a cheerleader, an actress. Like I said, absolutely everything. And me, at sixteen, with all of five feet, one inch to my name, I got lost in there somewhere._

_I always felt like kind of an afterthought. My siblings were always introduced and then it was, "Oh, and this is Kate." I didn't do anything particularly extraordinary. I mean, I got good grades, but that was about it. At my old school, before the move, I was class president, but that was overshadowed by my sister being student body president. I was always overshadowed. Don't get me wrong, I love my family. It was just hard in high school. That's why I was so glad to have Addison when we moved to Connecticut right before my sophomore year. We established that we weren't going to care, and that's what we did. No one bothered us, no one looked our way. That changed, though._

_Addison and I had just gotten our lunches and were heading to our normal table, the same one where I had first talked to her. We stopped short when we saw a girl already sitting there. Addison and I looked at each other and shrugged. Neither of us had seen her before._

"_Uh, hi, um, we usually sit here," Addison said, marching up to her. Ever since she got her braces off, she'd made leaps and bounds in the confidence department._

_The girl looked up and just stared. "Uh, but you're welcome to sit here," I added, sitting down. "I'm Kate."_

"_Temperance. Brennan," she said, a weird pause between her first name and her last. _

"_I'm Addison," Addison finished as she sat down, looking resigned. Addison was usually wary about new people. The fact that she even sat down was a pretty big step. _

"_So you're new?" I asked._

"_Yes. I just moved here." Temperance didn't offer any more, and she didn't look like she wanted to, so we didn't pressure her._

"_Ugh, so Miller was being so annoying today!" Addison exclaimed, sensing the need for a new topic._

"_Wait, Mrs. Miller? I have her for biology next," Tempe asked._

"_Yeah. She can be really sweet, but sometimes she's a total hard-ass," Addison replied. "The class is really cool though. But I'm a science nerd, so…"_

"_I don't really know what nerd means, but if it means interested in science, so am I," Tempe said. Addison and I looked at each other. Was this girl for real? Yes, as it turned out._

0ooo0

"Dinozzo!" Kate barks. "Give me my phone!"

"Pleasure talking to you, Addison," Dinozzo smirks into the phone.

"Give it!" Kate practically screams when she hears it's Addison.

"She sounds hot," Tony comments as he hands her the phone. "You didn't tell me you have hot friends."

"That's because I actually like my friends speaking to me, Tony," Kate replies. "Touch my phone again and your voice will be an octave higher." She glares at him and he quickly throws up his hands in surrender. "Sorry, Addie. I had to send Tony to time out. He thinks you sound hot, by the way."

"Aw, Kate!" Tony groans.

"Did you tell him that I am?" Addison smirks.

"Trust me, you do _not _want Dinozzo on your scent."

"He sounds cute," Addison says.

"That's only because you haven't talked to him for more than two minutes. So, why'd you call?"

"I talked to Alex."

"What?!" Kate exclaims. "Really?"

"Sort of. Not really. Kind of. Maybe. I don't know! We did this weird hidden message talk thing, except now I don't know if I got the hidden messages."

"Which were?"

"What?"

"The hidden messages!"

"It was a mistake."

"Isn't that what you said it was?" Kate asks, confused.

"Yes, but… I just didn't think… I didn't think it would hurt so much coming from him."

"Oh, Addie, I'm sorry," Kate apologizes.

"Does she need a rebound?" Tony perks up. "Because I am an excellent rebound man. And I am great at cheering women up."

"She lives in Seattle, Dinozzo!" Kate exclaims exasperatedly. "And I'd rather die than let you near one of my friends."

"Ouch, Kate. That hurts. Right here," Tony replies, patting his heart.

Kate shrugs.

"What's going on?" Addison asks.

"Tony's offering to be your rebound. Don't worry, it's all taken care of."

Addison laughs. "Thanks, Kate. So I have a huge favor to ask you."

"Sure, anything."

"The hotel just called me to say that they overbooked and that they don't have any rooms for us…"

"You can stay at my place." Kate picks up on the favor instantly.

"Really? Me and… Alex?"

"Sure. I'll make up the guest room for you and he can stay on the couch. It'll be fine. And maybe the sleeping arrangements will even change," she teases.

"Kate, no," Addison says firmly. "Just… leave it, okay?"

"Fine," Kate sighs.

"Thank you. Anyways, I have to go. I have a surgery coming up soon."

"I'll talk to you later, Addie."

"Bye, Kate."

"So, Kate," Tony says. "Who is this mysterious Addison person?"

"None of your business, Tony," Kate replies.

"Why does she need cheering up?"

"None of your business, Tony," Kate says more forcefully.

"Well, what about you?"

"What about me?" Kate asks.

"You look like you could use some cheering up."

"Your idea of cheering up? I'd rather cut off my own hand using a plastic knife, Dinozzo," Kate smirks.

"Ouch, Kate!" Tony exclaims. "I was only suggesting Chinese food, but you'd rather cut off your own hand, so…"

"No, Tony, wait. I am pretty hungry," she admits sheepishly.

"I'll go run and get some," he says, getting up from his desk and starting to walk away. "It's a date."

"Thanks Tony." She waits for him to reach the elevator before calling, "Hey, Tony?"

He turns around. "Yeah?"

"It's not a date!"

"Food? Dinner for two? It's a date, Katie Pie!" he calls back cheerfully before stepping onto the elevator.

After a minute, even though he's long gone by now, she grumbles, "Don't call me Katie Pie."

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**So I'm thinking I might play with the NCIS reality just a tad, as in giving Kate and Tony a nudge in the right direction. For those of you who watch, that will mean something. To everyone else, who is just reading because of Grey's or Bones, that will mean absolutely nothing to you and you can just ignore it.**

**All the best!  
-Juli-**


	3. I Can Do Girl Talk

**Okay, so here's the next chapter. It's not my best work, but it's functional. And only one more chapter before things actually start to happen! (Sorry the set up thing is taking so long, but I wanted to kind of introduce each character first)**

**And if I'm making money off of this, I don't know where it is.**

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_Temperance_

_Before I turned sixteen, I was in the foster care system. On my sixteenth birthday, my foster parents announced that I would be transferring to St. Mary's College Preparatory, an exclusive Catholic high school. I was dubious at best. My parents didn't raise me to be religious. My real parents I mean. Not my foster parents. My father believed in science above all, and I had always sided with him. A Catholic high school was a completely foreign experience. But they had a very strong science program, so I accepted the religion that came with the brand new science labs as a tolerated, if paradoxical, reality._

_I didn't fit in there. I didn't fit in at my old school, and I didn't fit in at St. Mary's either. The teacher's found it difficult to keep me academically challenged. My peers hated me because I broke the grading curve. Teachers shouldn't grade on a curve in the first place; it gives a dishonest portrayal of the student's achievements._

_In spite of all this, my memories of St. Mary's are some of my fondest. I didn't have many friends, just two girls who decided to accept me into their culture. Kate and Addison had created a small fringe society on the outside of the generally accepted cliques. While the idea was nothing new to me, the thing that struck me was their philosophy. Many fringe dwellers, especially in high school, resent their place and struggle to create a reality that is more to their ideals. Kate and Addison were different. They didn't care about any of it, and I envied that quality, I struggled to emulate it in my own life. Once they accepted me, I realized how they managed it. The only opinion that mattered to them was their own, and they simply refused to recognize that anyone else's opinion might hold a small amount of worth. This became easier to believe as I became more ingrained in their culture._

_We were inseparable throughout high school. I had rarely ever watched TV or movies as a child, and was apparently deprived because of this. When Kate and Addison found out, they worked to rectify the situation as quickly as possible, although I was never receptive. Every Friday we would go to Addison's mansion (I've often wondered how popular Addison would have been had she made it known that her family owned a mansion, as well as a summer home in the Hamptons and a cabin in Colorado, plus a private jet to take them to each location). We would spend the weekend watching movies and acting like teenage girls in general. We lived for those weekends. They gave us the strength we needed to make it through the week, and as our lives got more complicated, they became even more important._

0ooo0

"So, Bones, can you tell me how?" Seeley Booth asks, as he and Brennan stand on the platform in the Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Lab.

Brennan sighs. "I can't just look at a pile of bones and pull the murder weapon out of thin air, Booth. You know that!"

"Can you at least give me an ID?" he wheedles.

"I've hardly had time to examine the remains, I haven't had time to establish an identity. Angela is working on a facial reconstruction now, but that is all I can give you. Now, go away. I can't work when you're hovering over me."

Booth opens his mouth to retort, but Brennan's phone rings and she picks up. "This is Dr. Brennan."

"You always sound so professional when you pick up the phone. Whatever happened to hello?"

Brennan laughs. "Addison, hi."

"That's Dr. Montgomery to you." Brennan can hear Addison struggling not to laugh.

"Is there a particular reason you called? Not that I'm not happy you called."

"I just wanted to let you know that I'm flying out in two days."

"Where are you flying in to? I'll come pick you up."

"Actually," Addison says a little sheepishly, "Kate offered to pick us up, and since we're staying with her, it just makes sense. I don't want you to have to waste the gas or anything."

"Okay, we'll just go out to dinner that night."

"You're not mad?"

"Why would I be mad? Because I'm saving gas money?"

"I'd love to go to dinner. It'll be good to see you guys again."

"Yeah, it will be nice. Anyways, Addison, I have to go, I'm in the middle of work, but I'll see you on Wednesday, alright?"

"Bye, Bren."

"It was nice talking to you, Addison," Brennan says before hanging up. She sees that Booth is still standing by her death.

"You have girlfriends?" he asks.

"If by girlfriends, you mean friends, then yes, I have friends. Why do you sound surprised at that?"

"Nothing, you just never seemed like the type of person to have girlfriends."

"I have friends! I have Angela!"

"Who you met through work."

"And I'm friends with Hodgins," Brennan points out. "Well, more like friendly acquaintances, really."

"You met Hodgins through work. You don't have any friends outside of work. It's okay, I'm not judging."

"I have friends, Booth!"

"Look, calm down," he says in a soothing voice.

"What's going on?" Jack Hodgins asks as he approaches the platform.

"Bones has girlfriends," Booth snickers.

"What, like sleepovers and girl talk?" Hodgins asks. He looks at Brennan. "Do you even do girl talk?"

"I can do girl talk," Brennan says defensively. "What do you have for me, Dr. Hodgins? The murderer won't catch himself, you know."

"If only they did," Booth mutters. "So who is this BFF, Bones?"

"I don't know what that means. Any interesting particulates on the victim?"

"Actually—" Hodgins is cut off by Booth.

"It means Best Friend Forever, Bones. We have really got to get you a television."

"I don't watch television."

"So what's this big event that's got you going out to dinner?" Booth asks.

"A friend of mine is flying out from Seattle and I'm going out with her and another friend. Now, the particulates, Dr. Hodgins?"

"What's she look like?" Hodgins asks.

"If we could focus on the _science_, Dr. Hodgins?" Brennan snaps. "In case you've both forgotten, this is a crime lab. We catch murderers and put them in jail, which is very difficult when you're all fixated on the fact that I have friends! I'm going to check on Angela's facial reconstruction."

Booth and Hodgins wait for her to be out of hearing range before starting to snicker.

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**So there you have it, one more chapter. I hope you liked it. I'm sure I captured the feel of Bones, but I tried, and I think I at least got kind of close. Within the neighborhood, at least.**

**-Juli-**


	4. Never Plain Montgomery

**Eh, so I'm not super happy with it, but at least it's done, right? Just enjoy it.**

**NCIS, Grey's Anatomy, and Bones are all not mine. Neither is Alex Karev or Tony Dinozzo (which makes me sad on so many different levels- As Addison says: man candy).**

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**Addison**

_The funny thing about me, Kate, and Brennan's friendship was that I didn't even notice when it became important. At first, they were just girls who actually ate lunch with me and distracted me from my reading (which never failed to annoy me, something Kate always took great pleasure in). And then even when they started coming home with me, I didn't really think anything of it. It was a total non-event that showed me that I not only had friends, I had best friends. A totally pathetic non-event involving Star Wars, to be exact._

"_Oh my God, you guys, did you see the trailer for the new Star Wars movie?" I asked as I dropped my tray onto the table. Yes, I was that nerdy._

_Kate groaned. "Now how did I know we were going to hear something about that?"_

_I turned to Brennan for help. "I don't watch TV, Addison, you know that!" she exclaimed._

"_We're seeing it," I announced. "I hope you realize that."_

"_Addison, I don't want to go see a movie set in a galaxy far, far away," Kate complained. "I don't even want to see half of the movies set in this one."_

_I glared at her. "We're seeing it."_

"_Go see it with your brother or something," Kate suggested._

_I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, because Archer's _really _going to want to go. And it's not like my parents are ever home."_

"_Addison, not to be rude, but get this through your thick skull; I do not, nor will I ever want, to see Star Wars. Take Tempe."_

"_What?!" Brennan exclaimed. "I don't even know what we're talking about! Don't drag me into this!"_

_I sighed. "Fine," I grumbled._

_I was actually pretty pissed after that. But after about a week, Kate called me. "Hey, Addison, get ready. We're going shopping."_

"_Bren too?" I asked. Brennan hated shopping. I knew that even then._

"_Bren too," Kate repeated._

_I agreed quickly. The house was empty and quiet. It had never felt comforting or warm, and I took every opportunity to get out of it. Kate and Brennan picked me up, but we ended up driving straight past the mall._

"_Uh, guys, the turn was back there," I said._

"_Yeah, I know," Kate smirked. "We're not going shopping." As she said this, we pulled into the movie theater parking lot._

"_We're not?"_

_Kate sighed. "You've been going on about this stupid movie forever. Happy Birthday."_

"_It's not my birthday," I pointed out._

"_Then Happy Saturday," she replied._

"_Really?" I asked._

"_Yes," she sighed again._

"_But I thought you hated Star Wars and everything remotely connected to it?"_

"_You want to see the movie," Kate explained. "And you're my friend, so…"_

"_I, for one," Brennan said. "Still have no idea what it's about. But that's okay."_

_I laughed and that's when it hit me: I had best friends._

0ooo0

Addison and Alex sit in the airport terminal in silence, both trying desperately to come up with some conversation that doesn't sound too forced. Alex succeeds first. "So, who's this chick we're staying with again?" he asks.

Addison jumps at the unexpected sound. "Oh, uh, her name is Caitlyn Todd—Kate to everyone except her mother. She's one of my best friends from high school, and-" Addison stops suddenly to ask, "Are you okay with it?"

"Okay with what?"

"With staying with her. I never asked and now I feel bad. Because if you want to be alone, I'm sure we can find a hotel room." Addison stops abruptly and blushes as he smirks and she becomes very aware that she just suggested a hotel room. "Not like that. I just meant that-"

Alex interrupts her with a laugh. "I get it. And it's fine. I don't care, as long as I have somewhere to sleep."

"Oh, I… uh, okay. Good." She would be able to form much longer sentences if he would just stop looking at her and they could just stop talking about beds in general.

He smirks. "You can stop stuttering, you know."

"W-what? I- I don't know what-"

"Addison," he interrupts her. "You're doing it again."

She wants to retort that she would stop if he could just please quit looking at her and leaning in so close (not that he's all that close at all), but since they've agreed that them in a romantic sense is just not smart (or at least that's what she thinks they've agreed to—that conversation they had wasn't all that clear), this doesn't seem to be the most brilliant response. Fortunately, she's saved by the boarding call for their section, and she practically sprints for the plane.

There's more awkward silence as they sit and wait for take off. It's finally broken as the plane begins to move, because Alex notices Addison tense up. "Are you _scared_?" he asks incredulously. And then he chuckles, since apparently this thought is hilarious.

She treats him to her best glare, which silences him rather quickly. "I'm not scared. I just don't like taking off."

He nods, but then loses all self control and starts laughing again. "What?" she snaps. "Just what is so hilarious? I'm not seeing the joke here."

"Addison Montgomery, whose family probably has a private jet and maybe a helicopter or two, is afraid is afraid of flying!"

"I'm not scared!" she insists. "I've never liked taking off. Even in our plane," she adds sarcastically.

"Holy crap, Montgomery, just how loaded are you?!" he exclaims.

She glares at him. "There are so many things wrong with that question that I don't know where to start. No, never mind, I do. One, don't ever refer to me as Montgomery. Dr. Montgomery is fine, or I'll respond to Addison. Never plain Montgomery. Two, didn't your mother ever teach you it's rude to ask people how much money they have? And three, if I didn't love my job so much, believe me, there would be no reason for me to work."

"So you became a surgeon just because you felt like it?" he asks.

"That, and it meant that my mom couldn't turn me into the perfect socialite. It happened to most of the girls in my high school and we swore we'd be different."

"We?"

"Me, Kate, and Brennan. I'm a surgeon and they both work for the government. I'd say we did pretty well."

"Brennan?" he asks. "Girl or guy? And why does it sound familiar."

"Brennan's her last name," Addison explains. "Really, her name's Temperance, but no one calls her that."

"Wait, the author? You're friends with Temperance Brennan?"

"Uh, yeah," Addison says. "Why?"

"I think you just became Izzie and Meredith's new best friend," he replies. "They're completely obsessed with her books. She's like their idol or something."

"They are good books," Addison agrees. "I mean, I've always been more interested in the classics—you know, Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Arthur Canon Doyle—but Bren really writes well. I've never been able to guess an ending, which is saying something. I almost always guess the endings."

"You read murder mysteries? Really?"

"Yeah, I've always loved them. Ever since freshman year of high school. I'd sit and read in the library whenever I had free time and I'd always read Agatha Christie during lunch."

"Oh my God," Alex laughs. "You were a nerd in high school."

Addison opens her mouth to protest, but starts laughing too. She can't help it, his laugh is infectious. "That never leaves this airplane," she warns him when she can breathe.

"Don't worry, your secret's safe with me," he laughs, and pats her thigh playfully. She forces herself not to shiver at the contact. They quickly become serious and silent as they stare at each other. Addison bites her lip, and just as she feels herself start to lean in, the intercom crackles to life and announces that the passengers are now free to get out of their seats. The sound snaps both of them out of the same zone that caused the first kiss.

"Okay, I completely missed the part where we took off," she admits, more to fill the void that a silence would create than to actually tell him the information.

"See, this is why you should fly with me all the time?" he replies with a grin. "I'll keep you distracted."

Her eyes narrow. "Only because I'm too busy concentrating on not slapping you," she retorts.

"It works, doesn't it?"

She hesitates. "I'm not talking to you anymore," she finally announces.

"What? Why?"

"Because you're rude, and cocky, and you think you're ten times better than you are," she informs him. She leaves out the part where if she keeps talking to him she's going to do something she would regret about two seconds later.

"Oh, so you get to insult me, but I can't make fun of you at all?"

"Yeah, that sounds about right," she smirks.

"Then I don't want to talk to you either."

"I'm already not talking to you. I don't care if you don't want to talk to me!"

He doesn't respond and they settle into another silence, but at least this one is more comfortable.

0ooo0

When they get off the plane, Addison starts speed-walking for baggage claim. "Dude, slow down," Alex requests.

"Huh?" Addison asks, then processes his words. "Oh, sorry."

"You're really excited, aren't you?" he asks, a small smile forming on his face.

"Yeah," Addison blushes.

They've only just retrieved their bags when they hear someone call, "Addison!"

Addison turns and, the second she recognizes just who is calling her head, squeals, "Kate!"

The two women start walking towards each other, but manage to speed up so they're practically sprinting towards each other. The air is filled with Oh my Gods and How are you?s as they hug. Alex follows, careful to put a safe distance between him and the women.

"Have you talked to Tempe lately?" Kate asks.

"Yeah, she's meeting us for dinner later. You can do dinner tonight, right?"

"Absolutely," Kate agrees.

"Kate, I thought you had better manners," the man that Addison only now notices standing next to Alex says. "She was raised by wolves. We're trying to work on that. I'm Tony, by the way. Tony Dinozzo."

"Addison," Addison smiles, shaking his hand, and smiling at the grin he's giving her. It's certainly one she knows very well. Mark uses it constantly, and Alex uses it every once in awhile too. Even Derek used it occasionally back when he was still trying to seduce her. Not that Alex is trying to seduce her, but the charming smile just seems to come naturally to him. Not that that matters, since she shouldn't be noticing his smiles in the first place.

"Sorry," Kate apologizes. "We were interviewing a suspect and I didn't have time to get rid of him."

"That's fine," Addison replies.

"My car is this way," Kate says, grabbing Addison's arm and pulling her in the direction indicated. They head off in the direction without glancing back.

Alex glares at the other man as they watch Kate and Addison walk away. "What?" Tony asks. Alex stays quiet, so Tony repeats, "What?!"

"Stay away from her," Alex says.

"What?"

"Look, I know guys like you. Stay away from her. She's been through hell."

"Guys like me?" Tony smirks. "And what are guys like me like exactly?"

"Arrogant. Cocky. Used to getting their way."

Tony laughs. "Sounds like me. So you got any other reason I should stay away from her, because if you know me _so well _then you'd know that's not a good enough reason."

Alex doesn't respond, and when he doesn't, Tony's eyes shine in realization. "You want her," he states.

"What? No," Alex says.

"Uh, hate to break it to you, buddy, but, yeah, you do," Tony tells him. "And why not? Dude, she's hot!"

"I don't want her."

"Whatever. I'm not getting in to this with you," Tony says. "All I'm saying is, I don't care who sleeps with Kate, and you'd have to be dead not to want to sleep with her at some point. So either you're dead, or you want her, and as far as I can see, you're still breathing."

Alex glares at him, but instead of punching him- which is what he really wants to do- settles for stalking after Addison and Kate. Tony just laughs and follows.

* * *

**And there you have it. A little fluff like stuff, a little confrontation, a little squealing. Who could ask for anything more?**

**-Juli-**


	5. A Very Lose Lose Situation

**Desolee, desolee, desolee. (Roughly sorry, sorry, sorry- I've been watching Paris 36 and am now listening to it, and so now I am in a very French mood. Well, minus the depression.). I'm really sorry it's been so long since I updated this story, but I was totally stuck, and I'm still totally stuck, but I at least got this out.**

**I want to warn everybody reading this (hello! Are you still out there? Color me impressed) that I'll probably focus the most attention on Addison and Alex, just because I know them best. I write them best. I'm still struggling to make Booth and Bones sound like Booth and Bones, and Tony and Kate kind of make me nervous. I'm sorry if this offputs anybody out there, and I hope you don't totally hate and abandon me for it.**

**In other news, I now own Bones, NCIS, and Grey's Anatomy in my dreams.**

* * *

**Kate**

"_You guys are going to love him," I declared to Addison and Tempe. I was talking about my new boyfriend—my first boyfriend really. I mean, I had had boyfriends before at my old school, but that was freshman and sophomore year, and they really didn't count. They were boyfriends for the sake of having a boyfriend, which is a fact that is sad, but true._

_We were lounging in Addison's bedroom (Bedroom doesn't quite fit though—my room could probably fit in her closet) after school one day._

"_Uh-huh," Addison agrees absently, turning a page in her book. She was reading _And Then There Were None _by Agatha Christie for the seventh or eighth time. I have never understood that—isn't the point of a murder mystery _not _to know the ending? But Addie kept insisting it got better every time she read it. There are some things about my friends that I have realized I will never understand._

"_Are you even paying attention?" I asked._

"_Mm-hmm," she hummed, rolling her eyes. "Boyfriend is amazing, blah, blah, blah, you've never met anyone like him, yadda, yadda, yadda, we're going to love him."_

"_I don't understand the fixation with having a boyfriend," Tempe admitted. "Why limit yourself in a world of endless possibilities? I mean, the point is to find the fittest mate, right? Being exclusive with someone doesn't help to further that search."_

_I shook my head. By this time Addison and I had gotten used to Tempe's way of speaking._

_I tried to fight back the mounting disappointment I felt. I had really hoped for approval and support, because I was feeling a little vulnerable, this being my first serious boyfriend. _

_Addison was too wrapped up in her books to care. I knew she was happy for me, but dating was just something that didn't interest her. And honestly, it wouldn't really interest her until med school, where she would meet a fellow student named Derek Shepherd._

_Tempe, on the other hand, was a completely different story. She's smart. Brilliant, actually. But monogamy is the one concept that she will never fully grasp._

_Addison looked at me, and read me like I was one of her murder mysteries. "Kate, you know we're happy for you. But we've been talking about your new boyfriend for half an hour now."_

_Tempe consulted her watch. "Actually, it's been almost forty-five minutes."_

"_See?" Addison said. "Don't you think it's time to put the topic on the shelf and move on to something else? I have an important topic. What are we having for dinner tonight?"_

_Tempe and I laughed. That was something I loved about Addison, Tempe, and me. They kept me grounded whenever I threatened to float off into dreamland. And we almost never fought—it was always diverted by a more important topic, usually food._

0ooo0

"So how are you?" Kate asks as everyone buckles their seatbelts. Addison sits in the passenger seat beside her and the men sit in the back ("My car, I drive," Kate had explained to Tony when he had complained).

"I'm good," Addison replies. "What about you?"

"I'm great."

"You're not trying to top me, are you?" Addison narrows her eyes, but the hidden laugh in her voice lets Kate know she's joking.

"Never," Kate responds easily. Then she raises her voice and directs it towards the back seat. "So Alex, you're Addison's intern, right?"

"He's not _my _intern," Addison hisses as Alex replies in the affirmative.

"So would you say that Addison is difficult to work with? Because that wouldn't surprise me." Kate flashes a smile at Addison as she says this. Addison glares back.

"No, not really," Alex replies. "She's actually really easy. To work with, I mean." Alex and Addison's eyes meet in the rearview mirror and Addison smiles but looks away quickly.

"He's lying," Addison tells Kate quietly. "I've been riding his ass since I got to Seattle. Why is he being so nice to me?"

"I think I have an idea," Kate replies. "But I'm not going to tell you."

"That's not fair," Addison complains. "You can't tell me that you have an idea and then not tell me."

"_Not now_," Kate says, her strained tone letting Addison know that it would be a _really _bad idea for her to press the issue.

"Right," Addison says. They ride in silence as Kate drives them to Tony's apartment. Addison squints her eyes, studying the two, when she notices that Kate needs almost no direction to the building. But at least she has the decency to wait until Tony is out of the car to ask innocently, "How long have you know him?"

"Tony? Since I started at NCIS a year ago. Why?"

"Oh, no reason." Addison does her best to sound nonchalance, and fails miserably.

Both Kate and Alex tense up when they realize that Addison is interested in Tony.

Addison hasn't known her best friend since high school for nothing. She notices Kate's tenseness (although she completely misses Alex's), and she grins. "Caitlyn Todd, do I sense some jealousy there?"

"What? No. Don't be ridiculous," Kate denies. "Why would you think that?"

"Because it definitely wasn't my ass he was checking out while we were walking away," Addison smirks. In the backseat, Alex's eyes widen. That's not something the super-classy Addison Forbes Montgomery would say usually. But he's starting to get a sneaking suspicion that this new Addison is much closer to the real Addison.

"That's just Tony," Kate scoffs. "He doesn't know how to act normally."

"If that's the only reason he was checking you out, then why do you know the way to his place?"

Kate's face begins to try to match Addison's hair. "We're friends."

Addison rolls her eyes. "Men and women can't be friends, Kate. Of all people, _I_ should know that."

"That's not true," Kate retorts. "Tony and I are just friends." Addison swears she hears just a hint of guilt in her voice. "It's possible. I mean, what about you and Alex?"

Addison glares as Kate smirks triumphantly. This appears to be a very lose-lose situation for her—either admit that Kate is right because she and Alex are just friends or win the argument but destroy the only façade that allows her to be in Alex's presence for an extended period of time, because the only reason she's survived this long is because she's clinging to the idea that they're _only _friends.

Kate pulls into her parking space. "Welcome home," she says, saving her friend as easily as she put her in danger.

0ooo0

"Crap!" Addison exclaims an hour later. She is fully installed in Kate's guest room and Alex is fully installed on her couch. Alex is currently on a short run, in order to get some form of exercise in for the day.

"What?" Kate asks.

"Dinner! I can't just leave Alex alone in your apartment!"

"He's not going to steal anything, right?"

"Right…" Addison answers, although she's not exactly sure where this is going.

"Then why is it a problem?"

"Because I'd feel terrible for leaving him alone in a strange city in a stranger's apartment," Addison explains.

Kate gives her an exasperated look that clearly says _Is that all?_ "I'll just have Tony come over and hang out here. That way he's not alone."

Addison raises an eyebrow. "And Tony will do this because…?"

"I won't give him a choice," Kate says sweetly.

"Don't you think that'll be a little awkward? Just Tony and Alex? They didn't talk at all on the car ride," Addison points out skeptically.

"I'll call Tempe. She can bring someone so they can have a guy's night or something."

0ooo0

"Booth," Brennan says, her voice containing the slight wheedling note that always alerts him to the fact that she's about to ask for something and the options are give in or she'll blackmail him and scream kidnap out the window.

He looks up from his work. "The door, Bones. See the door? When it's closed, people usually knock."

She squints at his papers. "You're not doing anything important," she points out.

"That's not the point, Bones. The point is that the door is closed and when the door is closed, you knock."

"I need you to do something for me," she announces.

"Why should I do something for you when you don't even knock?"

"I'm going to dinner with my friends, and apparently they've decided that they're sending men to have a "guy's night" or something, whatever that means."

"What's that have to do with me?"

"I don't have anybody else to send, Booth. Please?"

Booth hesitates for a moment. Then he rolls his eyes. "Fine. But you're buying me pie."

"Fine," Brennan agrees hastily.

"_And _you're trying it."

"No, Booth, I don't like pie."

"Then I'm not going," he insists stubbornly.

"Fine," she sighs, frustrated. "But we need to go now."

"What?!"

0ooo0

"Okay," Addison says as Brennan drives her and Kate to the restaurant (she has the nicest car—oh, the perks of being a best-selling author). "I haven't forgotten about your idea. What were you talking about?"

"What idea?" Brennan asks, her eyes flashing over Addison as she changes lanes.

"Alex is being too nice to me. Kate thinks that she knows why."

"Is there such a thing as being too nice?" Brennan asks. It's not a rhetorical question. Hers rarely ever are.

"There is when you're Alex Karev," Addison retorts.

"So why's he being too nice?" Brennan asks Kate.

"Because he's in love with Addison," Kate announces. Immediately, Addison starts protesting. Kate rolls her eyes. "Addison, you can say no as many times as you want; it's not going to change anything."

Brennan studies her two friends, one smug, one stuttering. "I haven't gotten to talk to Alex," she says, quite used to having to play tie-breaker. This is usually how their little spats go. "But from what I've heard, he does display certain qualities that make Kate's hypothesis plausible."

Addison rolls her eyes. "You're both wrong," she announces.

0ooo0

Meanwhile, the guys are just starting to get over the awkwardness of the situation, and beginning to converse. Naturally, they begin with the one topic they all have in common—the women currently out dining together.

After basic summaries of how they know the three women (all through work), the conversation becomes much more interesting.

Tony reveals that he and Kate, while not dating, definitely have a thing going on. Sort of. It's more of a hate-sex thing. Alex becomes uncomfortable as he notices the vague similarities between him and Addison and the man who reminds him far too much of Mark Sloan to ever be liked and Addison's best friend. He tries not to think about it.

Booth says that what he and Bones has is a purely professional relationship, although they do grab food together when they're working on a case. Coffee. Their relationship is coffee. Alex remains skeptical of this story. Booth seems way too adamant about how professional their relationship is to be completely truthful.

Alex chooses to reveal that Addison pretty much hated him from the start, but now they're friends. Yes, friends, just friends. He can tell that neither man believes him, but neither question him about it, so it doesn't really matter.

There's a slight hint of awkwardness in the silence that falls as each man realizes that the other two have some major feelings to be dealing with. Thankfully, each one of the three is completely immune to this feelings crap in his own mind.

* * *

**So I'll probably write the girl's night out, but I'm not so sure on the boy's night in... I don't think I know how they would interact with each other without our lovely ladies to distract and deflect them.**

**Also, sorry about the fact that I'm not exactly following the NCIS plotline. But I really wanted to put Kate and Tony in a place that's a little ahead of everybody else. Mostly because they're totally fun to write when they're bickering and it's really hard for me to write sexually charged bickering. Now they can just bicker.**

**Anyways, I hope you can find the strength within yourselves to perform that exhaustive task of pressing that little button below this and telling me that you loved (or hated- I can deal with either) it.**

**-Juli-**


	6. A Kickass Cup of Juju

**I am so sorry I've neglected this story! You know me and shiny new playthings. And if you don't, well, you do now. I'm not very good at remaining focused on things. But anyways, even though it's been far too long, I hope you enjoy it anyways!**

**I don't own Grey's. I don't own NCIS. I don't own Bones. These all sadden me very much.**

_**

* * *

Temperance**_

_The key to any strong relationship is communication. Any number of self-help books that you pick up will tell you that_._ It's the reason the friendship between Kate, Addison, and myself blossomed the way it did. As we grew up, our communication varied. Throughout college, we talked on the phone, at first every day, then every week. Once out of college, we got busy. Addison went to medical school, I went into graduate school, and Kate started training to work for the Secret Service. The work began to get to us. We almost lost touch completely. At first, we were only able to talk every month._

_Addison was always cranky when she talked to us. She never got enough sleep. One would think that she would have learned how to work on little sleep at Yale, but she didn't. The stress of Columbia's med program definitely was starting to get to her._

_Kate always tried to be cheerful, but she was distracted and tired. Her training was making her tired and sore, and she was hardly able to stay awake on the phone._

_My graduate work kept me incredibly occupied. Up through high school, school had never been a challenge for me. I took every AP available, but I was still bored. Northwestern afforded me a larger challenge, but I still needed more to do. Graduate school was far more difficult. I fell in love with forensic anthropology. Bones were easy to read. They never lied. They never got tired or snapped at you; they didn't disappear._

_In the years after college, we only spoke once a year, at Christmastime. Addison and Kate, no matter how tired they were, they always remembered to call at Christmas to check up. Right before our high school graduation, I had told them about my parents' disappearance. They made sure we spent all four Christmases during college together. Rationally, I knew it was in response to the pity they felt for me, but I didn't complain. It was nice to be around someone on Christmas. We didn't even celebrate; they knew I didn't celebrate, and we would just go see a movie instead._

_When Addison got married, we started talking more frequently. She asked both Kate and I to be in her wedding party, and we both agreed. After Addison got back from her honeymoon, we got back into the habit of talking at least once a month._

_I was glad. I had missed them._

0ooo0

"I want to hear about this Alex guy," Kate announces as they wait for appetizers.

Addison looks panicked. "I do too," Brennan agrees.

"What's he like?" Kate questions.

"What's this Tony guy like?" Addison retorts.

Kate blushes faintly, but manages to keep her composure. "We're not talking about me, we're talking about you and your intern."

"Tony? Who's Tony?" Brennan asks.

"Tony is Kate's boy toy," Addison answers.

"He's not my boy toy," Kate denies. "And we're talking about Alex."

"No, now we're talking about you. And Tony, who I'm determined to get you to admit that you're sleeping with."

"What?" Kate screeches.

"Wait, you're sleeping with this Tony guy?" Brennan asks.

"No!" Kate exclaims. Then she looks at Addison's disbelieving, stubborn face and sighs. "Yes," she mumbles.

"I knew it!" Addison cries triumphantly.

"You're sleeping with your partner?" Brennan asks. She sounds surprised. "That's not rational."

Kate shrugs. "I know."

"Kate, that's not okay!" Brennan exclaims.

Kate shrugs again. "I know."

"You have to stop!"

"Bren, it's not really your choice who Kate sleeps with," Addison steps in.

"You couldn't understand, Addison!" Brennan snaps. "You're not out catching murderers every day! You don't understand. You _can't _understand. They're putting their lives in danger!"

"Tempe," Kate says, trying to calm her friend down.

"No, Kate! This isn't acceptable! It's just not!" Brennan cuts her off. She slams her chair back from the table and storms out of the restaurant.

Kate and Addison watch their best friend run out, frowning at each other. "What was _that _all about?" Kate says.

"I'm sorry I didn't let it go," Addison apologizes.

"Don't worry. I needed to tell someone," Kate accepts. "I guess we should go after her."

"You go," Addison says. "I'll pay for the drinks."

"You sure? I can get it," Kate offers.

Addison nods after Brennan. "Go get Bren. I've got the drinks. Now go."

Kate gets up from the table. "Thanks, Addie."

Addison waves her off then waves for the check.

0ooo0

Kate finds Brennan perched on a planter outside. "Are you okay?" she asks quietly.

"Fine," Brennan replies.

"Okay," Kate says. She knows that sometimes it's kinder just to say nothing.

"It's dangerous. What you're doing. It's not safe; what if something happens?"

"I know," Kate sighs. "I struggle with it every day. But I don't know how to stop."

"Can't you just… stop?" Brennan suggests.

Kate has to laugh. Only her hyper-rational friend would think that something as ludicrous as just stopping was possible. "I think that would be worse," she says. When Brennan looks up to ask why, Kate beats her to the punch. "What Tony and I are doing… It works. I don't know why, but it just does. And if we stopped, I don't think we could work together. And even though he drives me absolutely insane, I would miss him."

"It's still dangerous," Brennan insists.

Addison sits down next besides Brennan. "Are you okay?" she asks.

"I'm fine."

The three friends sit in silence for a moment. Then Kate realizes something. "We never talked about this Booth guy!"

"Booth and I are just partners," Brennan says. Her statement is even less convincing than Kate's insistence that she's not sleeping with Tony. But Kate and Addison are already on guard from her earlier outburst and don't bug her about it.

After a minute, they resolve to just call it a night. Addison's exhausted from traveling anyways, and Kate and Brennan are ready to collapse too.

0ooo0

Though all three guys are surprised that they're home before nine, nobody's complaining. A sports debate had kept things from getting too awkward, but when you got right down to it, it's three men who don't know each other, forced to spend an evening in an apartment that isn't all that spacious.

Booth and Brennan bow out soon after the girls arrive home, citing a big case and an early day's work tomorrow.

Addison, Alex, Tony, and Kate sit in her living room. Kate and Addison manage to keep the momentum of the conversation going, but since they're busy observing each other to truly talk. Then Tony and Kate start bickering over the best restaurant in town.

"Why'd you come home so early?" Alex whispers in Addison's ear. They're sitting next to each other on the sofa, careful not to touch.

She contains a shiver. He's not interested and they're just friends. She turns to face him. "We're all tired," she answers. It's not a lie, exactly. It's just not the truth.

If he doesn't believe her, he doesn't show it. He nods. "Long day," he comments.

"Yeah," she sighs. She looks over at her best friend and the man she's sleeping with. They're not lacking physical contact, but it's not the contact one would expect from a couple sleeping together. They aren't touches filled with longing or memory; they're rough, playful, and kind of adorable.

"Are they sleeping together?" Alex asks.

She turns abruptly towards him. "How'd you know?"

"Dude, it's kind of obvious," he says. "Look at them."

She obeys his order. Tony is teasing Kate, and she's getting frustrated. She shoves a strand of hair behind her ear and he pats her thigh condescendingly. It really is kind of obvious when you're looking for it.

She stands up with a yawn. Tony and Kate both look at her. "I'm exhausted," she admits. "I'm going to bed."

"Night," Tony says and turns back to Kate.

"Do you need anything?" Kate asks. When she responds in the negative, Kate bids her goodnight. Then she realizes that Alex probably wants to sleep too, and sets about kicking Tony out of the apartment.

While Kate walks him to his car, Addison and Alex stand in the living room. "So, um, goodnight," she finally says.

When she's safely in the guest room, he whispers. "Goodnight, Addison."

0ooo0

He's woken up by a rustling, then a clap of thunder. When he manages to keep his eyes open, he sees that the kitchen light is on. He gets up to investigate. He finds Addison sitting at the table with a glass of water.

She looks up in surprise. Her eyes widen even more when she sees that he's not wearing a shirt. "You okay?" he asks. Upon further inspection, he sees that her eyes are puffy and red.

"I don't like storms," she admits.

"And you live in Seattle?" he asks sarcastically,

She smiles wryly. "It's not the best choice for it, I'll admit. Sometimes I think Derek chose to move there just so I wouldn't chase him."

"Why don't you like them?" The funny thing is that he really wants to know.

She stares at him for a long time. "I had an older sister," she finally informs him. "Amy. She died in a car crash that happened because her car spun out of control during a storm. They just remind me."

He doesn't say anything, but he sits down next to her at the table. She rests her head on the table. "I'm exhausted, but I can't sleep," she confesses.

Abruptly, he stands up and starts digging through the cupboards. "What are you doing?" she hisses. He emerges triumphant, with two mugs, a carton of milk, and a can of cocoa powder. He proceeds to pour the milk into the mugs, then sticks them in the microwave.

"Something my grandma taught me," he says. "Hot chocolate makes anything better." He pulls the mugs out of the microwave, adds the cocoa powder and hands one to her. "Careful, it might be hot."

Gingerly, she brings the mug to her mouth and takes a sip. Her eyes close and she hums in delight. "That's a kick-ass cup of juju," she says.

"Juju?"

"It's a med school thing," she explains. They sit in silence for awhile, listening to the rhythm of the falling rain. She tries not to think about her older sister's funeral, or the fact that it all seems so much more bearable sitting at a kitchen table, drinking a cup of hot chocolate with Alex Karev.

* * *

**It's not my best, and there wasn't nearly enough Brennan, Booth, or Tony, but I hope you liked it anyways!**

**-Juli- **


	7. Mature Adult Conversation

**I was going to say that this isn't my favorite chapter, but then I realized that I say that a lot. And now I guess I just did again, but anyways, the intention was pure. Well, I hope you like it! Sorry that the formatting is stupid.**

**I've neither the time nor the finances to attempt to own any of these fabulous shows.**

**

* * *

**

**Addison**

_My sister died my freshman year of high school. October 27. It's not a day I'll ever forget. I answered the door for the cops. The second I opened it, I knew something was wrong. They asked for my parents with faces that betrayed nothing of the tragedy they were heralding, but I knew. They didn't have to tell me. My parents called Archer and me into the family room, and they didn't even have to say anything. I just looked at them and asked, "Amy's dead, isn't she?"_

_The funeral was a few days later. I don't remember any of it clearly, and I don't try. My entire freshman year was spent in the fog of grief. I retreated into my books and didn't come out. Kate was the first person who tried to pull me out of it, and I'll never forget that. And then Brennan showed up and reminded me that I wasn't the only person to suffer a tragedy. They never asked about Amy and I didn't tell them. They just knew that January was bad, the week of October 27 was worse, and October 27__th__ was absolute hell. I didn't tell them until my last year at Yale._

_Normally they would call me that week, trying to cheer me up. For some reason or another, they forgot. So instead of spending my night talking to my best friends and wallowing in unnamed misery and forced jollity, I spent the day getting drunk off my ass. And none of my friends at Yale thought to take my phone away from me. So, being the brilliant drunk that I am, I ended up calling Kate. I don't really remember it, but Kate told me that I slurred my hello and proceeded to cry that she had forgotten "The Anniversary". She didn't push me, but when she mentioned that she didn't know what "The Anniversary" was, I spilled everything._

_She told me afterwards that if it had been _anything _smaller, anything less traumatic she wouldn't have spoken to me for a year. As it was, she told Brennan and they never missed another anniversary again._

0ooo0

She wakes up with a smile on her face. A quick glance out the window shows her that the storm has literally passed, leaving behind only the memory of the pain and comfort of the night before. She has another day before the conference starts. It seems like the day is going to turn out rather well. She pads out into the living room and smiles when she sees Alex still asleep on the couch, mouth hanging open.

Silently, she steps into the kitchen and is happy to find that Kate's coffee pot is already finished making coffee. She pours two mugs and returns to the living room. She waves one of the mugs under his nose. "Time to get up," she says quietly. Without opening his eyes, he grabs the mug and takes a drink. She blinks in surprise. That took talent.

"I'm up," he replies, and opens his eyes. She notices that they don't have the blurry haze of just waking up.

"You were already awake, weren't you?" she accuses him.

"I didn't want to get up and get coffee. And I wanted to see if I could get you to get it for me."

She laughs. "Wow, I feel so… used."

"Don't worry," he assures her. "I'll make it up to you."

Her breath catches in her throat as they lock eyes. She swallows and tries to remember to breathe. Then she remembers that she needs to get control of the situation. So she cuffs him in the arm. "You'd better."

"Morning," Kate says as she exits her bedroom.

"Good morning," Addison replies. Kate shuffles over to her best friend, grabs her cup of coffee and takes a drink. "Hey! Get your own damn cup of coffee!"

"I will, but I need coffee to get to the coffee. Anyways, I have to stop into work for a few moments. But after that, I'm free all day. I was thinking maybe we could go do something."

Addison gets an idea. "Let's go surprise Tempe at work! At lunch time, so she won't totally kill us."

"Okay, sounds good to me. Do you want to just come with me? It won't take more than an hour. Plus, there's people who want to meet you."

"People? You've talked about me at work?"

"I work in a really chatty office." She turns to Alex. "You're welcome to come too."

"No, I wouldn't want…"

"Don't be ridiculous, Alex," Addison speaks up. "I'm not going to let you sit inside all day. We're going to be doing plenty of that tomorrow. Come with us."

"If you're sure."

"I am. Come with us."

"Okay."

0ooo0

An hour later, Addison, Alex, and Kate have stepped through the metal detectors and Addison and Alex have their visitor's badges. As they step out of the elevator into the surprisingly open government office, Kate rolls her eyes as _that _guy from Mail Fraud approaches. "Not now," she says. "I'm in a bit of a rush. Sorry!"

"Oh, uh, um, okay," he stammers.

"Who's that?" Addison whispers, leaning in.

"I don't really know, but he has a huge crush on me," Kate laughs, turning into her work area. "Um, this is my desk. That's Tony's. Just let me grab a couple of files and we can go."

"Oh my gosh, is that Addison? Hi! I've heard so much about you!" Suddenly, Addison is being accosted and hugged by a flurry of pale skin and jet black hair.

"Um, Addison, this is Abby. Abby, Addison," Kate laughs. "And that's Alex."

"Sorry, I haven't heard anything about you," Abby admits. "McGee! McGee! Look!"

Addison turns to see a clean cut, kind of geeky looking man standing, looking amused by Abby's enthusiasm. "You must be Kate's high school friend. Addison, right? She mentioned you might be stopping by today. I'm Timothy. Timothy McGee."

"Kate? Are you planning on introductions?" Addison jumps; she hadn't heard the silver haired man approach.

"Oh, um, Alex, Addison, this is Agent Gibbs. Gibbs, this is my friend Addison and her, um, intern, Alex."

"Intern?"

"They're surgeons."

"Ah."

"Hey, guys, long time no see!" Tony exclaims as he rolls in. "What? We having some sort of party?"

"You're _late_, Dinozzo," Gibbs growls.

"Sorry, Boss, had to get breakfast," Tony explains, holding up a breakfast burrito. "And then the girl running the coffee cart, well, had to give her my number."

Kate punches him in the shoulder. "You're a pig, Dinozzo. Can I talk to you?" Kate hisses. "Over there?"

Addison grins as she notices the signs of jealousy in her friend. She notices Alex trying not to smile too. "What?" she asks.

"Dude's going to get his ass kicked," he replies.

"I missed you last night," Tony says to Kate.

"Shh!" Kate shushes frantically. "We don't talk about it, remember? Rules? Gibbs might hear!"

They both pause a moment, waiting for the practically inevitable, "I might hear _what_?" but it never comes. Suddenly, Tony grins. "You're _jealous_!" he laughs triumphantly. "You're jealous of the coffee cart girl!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Tony."

"You _are_!"

"Are you even capable of a mature, adult conversation?" she snaps.

"That depends. Do you count as a mature, adult person?"

She gives him the look that says she thinks he's an idiot. "So, really bold move back there," Tony says innocently.

"What?"

"Leaving Addison over there with Gibbs. I mean, she has Abby and Probie for protection. And that Alex guy. But that'll give her maybe another couple seconds?"

"Huh?"

"Kate, _think _about it," Tony answers, exasperated. "This is Gibbs we're talking about. Please tell me you've noticed your best friend's hair color."

Kate's eyes are suddenly the size of saucers. She glances over to where her friend is talking to her boss. Innocently, right? "Oh no. Gibbs… he wouldn't. Would he?"

"When has Gibbs _not _been attractive to redheads?"

"Come on," she says, tugging him by his sleeve. "Let's go."

"Save the damsel in distress!" Tony cackles.

"Addison," Kate says rather louder than necessary. "I just need to grab a report I need to finish and I'll be ready to go?"

"Sounds good," Addison replies absently, more focused on the story Gibbs is telling than on her friend.

Tony sidles up to Alex. "You may want to get her out of here soon," he mentions.

"What?" Alex asks.

Tony nods his head towards Gibbs and Addison. "I know you're not interested in her, but… Four wives. All redheads. Just saying."

Alex tries to cover up his concern with a half-hearted laugh. "Addison wouldn't…" He trails off as Addison throws her head back and laughs. Flirtatiously?

Alex doesn't know it, but Addison is studying him out of the corner of her eye, trying to see if he reacts. She's a little disappointed when he doesn't come storming over and try to drag her out of the building.

"Okay, ready?" Kate asks suddenly.

"Mm-hmm," Addison nods, trying to hide her frustration. She hadn't expected him to drag her out by her hair or anything, but after last night, would a spark of jealousy be too much to ask for?

As they head out of the building, both Addison and Alex frown.

Kate says goodbye to her friends and follows her friends with a smile.

Addison may have missed Alex's clenched hands and overprotective demeanor, but Kate sure as hell hadn't.

* * *

**I'll try to update soon, but you know me and my fail-y updating habits. Reviews are always great motivators though!**

**-Juli-**


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